The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) is a unique institution with a history that is closely related to Norwegian policy regarding Svalbard, and to clever development of a highly specialised Arctic university institution by all the Norwegian universities. In practical terms, Norwegian sovereignty on the archipelago as confirmed by the Treaty of Svalbard of 1920 and regulated by the Svalbard Law of 1925, is maintained by the presence of Norwegian civil authorities and communities. Today, the “capital” Longyearbyen with its 2100 inhabitants is a modern hub for industry, education, research, logistics and tourism. Founded in 1993, UNIS has become a main contributor to this community, generating some 20% of the total economic activity. A prime motivation for establishing UNIS was to provide a supplement and alternative to the unprofitable, heavily subsidized coal mining industry, by using the location for research based education. In 2015, the mining company Store Norske Spitsbergen Kullkompani (SNSK) met with deep crisis again and significantly downscaled its coal production and work force. Thus, UNIS may play an even more important role as a cornerstone of the local community in the future. This paper discusses the establishment and development of UNIS, its organisation, capacity, and academic production in terms of student graduation and its scientific output, just as its future potential for growth is evaluated. Finally, we discuss the increasingly important role of science and education in Norwegian Svalbard policy.

Visual documenters made a major contribution to the recording of the Heroic Era of Antarctic exploration. By far the best known were the professional photographers, Herbert Ponting and Frank Hurley, hired to photograph British and Australasian expeditions. But a great number of images – photographs and artworks – were also produced by amateurs on lesser known European expeditions and a Japanese one. These amateurs were sometimes designated official illustrators, often scientists recording their research. This paper offers a discursive examination of illustrations from the Belgian Antarctic Expedition (1897–1899), German Deep Sea Expedition (1898–1899), German South Polar Expedition (1901–1903), Swedish South Polar Expedition (1901–1903), French Antarctic Expedition (1903–1905) and Japanese Antarctic Expedition (1910–1912), assessing their representations of exploration in Antarctica in terms of the tension between emotive/aesthetic and systematic analytic/scientific motifs. Their depictions were influenced by their illustrative skills and their ‘ways of seeing’, produced from their backgrounds and the sponsorship needs of the expedition.

Research partnerships with northern communities hold promise for capacity and resilience against environmental changes. Given their historical ecological and cultural relationship with and, thus, ongoing concern for polar bears, Inuit communities are keen to participate in monitoring programmes. In spite of this, northern communities continue to meet polar bear research and collaborations with some resistance. Here, we summarise and report interviews with Nunavummiut from four communities on Inuit experiences with polar bears and research perspectives. Research interactions reveal ongoing cultural, socio-ecological and ethical barriers to polar bear research projects. Research licenses and standardised ethics procedures do not always guarantee collaborations. Adaptable research methods, mutual understanding and open dialogue are essential to form strong research partnerships with northern communities.

Sagediopsis bayozturkii, a lichenicolous fungus growing on Antarctic endemic species Acarospora macrocyclos, is described as new to science from three collections made at 65° south in the Argentine Islands (Graham Land, maritime Antarctica). The fungus has a distinct internal apical beak in the ascus and ellipsoid three-septate ascospores; therefore, it is the member of Sagediopsis subgenus Hawksworthiella. Morphologically and anatomically S. bayozturkii is most similar to S. campsteriana and S. pertusariicola, which are confined to the lichen hosts Ochrolechia spp. and Pertusaria spp., respectively. In addition to having different hosts, S. bayozturkii differs from these two species by having smaller ascomata and shorter ascospores. Its similarities to other species of the genus are discussed, and an artificial key based on the published descriptions of the ten species now known in the genus Sagediopsis is presented.

The Arctic Circle Assembly has established itself as a forum for stakeholders from all around the globe to discuss Arctic affairs. This includes discussion about the future of the Arctic, impacts of climate change on local inhabitants and indigenous peoples, the natural environment and wildlife, geopolitical issues, international treaties, research projects, business-related risks and opportunities, etc. At this international conference, the interests of stakeholders vary greatly. Some want to reap the economic and strategic benefits of melting glacial and sea ice, while others want to reduce the negative impacts of climate change. It is therefore important to analyse the conference discourse in order to understand the main emphases of stakeholders, and if some express their views more loudly than others. Through greater weight of voice in the Assembly and beyond, some stakeholders have more impact on the development of a region that is of economic, geopolitical and environmental importance, not only for the northern hemisphere but globally.

This paper presents survey measurements carried out during the 39th Polish Antarctic Expedition to the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station in March 2015. The measurements were used to create a map on a 1:500 scale and for 3D modelling of the station buildings and vicinity. The paper also presents the geodetic control network established around the station. We discuss the issue of creating a digital elevation model for the station and its surroundings. The elevation models were generated using terrestrial laser scanning data integrated with Global Navigation Satellite System real time kinematic and tacheometric surveying. The accuracy of these models was estimated using height differences in relation to survey data. The mean height difference was 0.03 m and root mean square error was 0.05 m. Furthermore, an analysis of changes to the coastline was conducted using archival cartographic materials to assess the threat of Admiralty Bay to the station buildings. The results are important for continued scientific activity and safety at Arctowski Station, and may be useful for future research on King George Island.

This paper assesses the vulnerability of Arctic fishing communities. We hypothesise that climate change related trends, such as increasing temperature and altered seasonality, and shocks, such as the breakdown of the Soviet Union or new fishing regulations, increase vulnerability of local Arctic peoples and compromise the sustainability of their livelihoods. Research shows that over recent decades local people have observed environmental changes and a significant decrease in the number of fish caught. Fishing regulations introduced after the collapse of the Soviet Union burdened fishers with quotas and temporal limitations that have hindered their fishing activities. While the adaptability of traditional fishing techniques to seasonally changing conditions might indicate the potential to adapt to future conditions under climate change, fishing regulations appear to limit this potential to adapt.

On the 150th anniversary of the birth of William Lashly, this paper explores what may be deduced about this stoker, who accompanied Scott on both his expeditions, from archived unpublished correspondence and artefacts. It draws particularly on letters he wrote to Reginald Skelton and Robert Gibbings and concludes that Lashly, in addition to being a physically strong member of Scott's teams, was also a thoughtful and perceptive man with the ability to report and reflect beyond what might have been expected of someone of his background and education. Though modest, Lashly was proud of what the he and his colleagues had achieved and remained an enthusiast for Antarctic matters all his life.

Russia's strategy in the Arctic is dominated by two overriding international relations (IR) discourses – or foreign policy directions. On the one hand, there is an IR-realism/geopolitical discourse that puts security first and often has a clear patriotic character, dealing with ‘exploring’, ‘winning’ or ‘conquering’ the Arctic and putting power, including military power, behind Russia's national interests in the area. Opposed to this is an IR-liberalism, international law-inspired and modernisation-focused discourse, which puts cooperation first and emphasises ‘respect for international law’, ‘negotiation’ and ‘cooperation’, and labels the Arctic as a ‘territory of dialogue’, arguing that the Arctic states all benefit the most if they cooperate peacefully. After a short but very visible media stunt in 2007 and subsequent public debate by proponents of the IR-realism/geopolitical side, the IR-liberalism discourse has been dominating Russian policy in the Arctic since around 2008–2009, following a pragmatic decision by the Kremlin to let the Foreign Ministry and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov take the lead in the Arctic. The question asked here is how solid is this IR-liberalist-dominated Arctic policy? Can it withstand the pressure from more patriotic minded parts of the Russian establishment?

Patrick Arnaud was born in Paris on 27 May 1939. He completed his secondary school education at the Lycée Buffon and undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Sciences of the Sorbonne, before his doctoral studies in Biological oceanography in 1960, a field developed in France, at Marseille, by Professor Jean-Marie Pérès.